Low-Maintenance Landscapes
While there’s no such thing as a garden plant that doesn’t need any care, there are quite a few plants that require very little from their owners in order to thrive. When it comes to creating beautiful and water-wise gardens in Texas, choosing low-maintenance plants is the key to success. These plants are incredibly drought tolerant and easy to grow, but they’ll look their best if provided a bit of supplemental water in the heat of summer.
Parry’s agave (Agave parryi)
A heat- and drought-tolerant succulent, agave works well in landscapes with little to no supplemental water and plenty of hot sun. Pests and diseases rarely bother agave, so you never need to worry about treating it. Many agaves are equally as Texas tough as this variety, but Parry’s agave is particularly pretty. Its leaves are a silver-blue color tipped with almost black spines. Plant Parry’s agave in landscape beds or containers.
Red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora)
Red yucca is another succulent that is both sturdy and beautiful in Texas landscapes. While not a true yucca, this aloe relative sports thin strap-like foliage topped with 5-foot blooms from spring through summer. There are varieties that bloom in red, coral, pink, and yellow. Plants naturally form large clumps when planted together, so while they make nice specimen plants, groups of red yucca can be used as shrubs, too.
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Rosemary is by far one of the most important culinary herbs, but it’s also a fantastic landscape plant for the Lone Star State. The aromatic evergreen herb grows into a mounded, semi-woody shrub form that can be used as a foundation plant in sunny beds, parkways, and even large containers. Rosemary is available in many varieties — some even grow as prostrate trailing plants.
Give these easy-care plants a try, and you’ll start feeling confident in the garden in no time.
